


With the Lights Off

by nikkiRA



Series: WTLO - Human AU Universe [4]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, im so fucking happy i was able to use this title somehow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 04:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4862669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkiRA/pseuds/nikkiRA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From: Jason<br/>(9:33) Haven’t heard from you in a while. Is everything ok?</p><p>To: Jason<br/>(9:36) Demeter is here and I have to pretend to be straight, the power has gone out, and Hazel has just suggested we play Disney Monopoly, which we have for some reason. So what do you think?</p><p>Will goes to meet Nico's father, and it doesn't exactly turn out the way they had planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With the Lights Off

**Author's Note:**

> shout out to pi_ponderer for giving me the meet the parents idea and shout out to e_cat for giving me an idea to finally use this DAMN TITLE
> 
> it's 2:30 in the morning so i haven't proof read this so ignore any small mistakes and kindly point out anything that makes no fucking sense thanks y'all i love u tons xo

“I’m gonna throw up.”

“Stop.”

“No, seriously. I’m going to vomit.”

“And you say I’m dramatic.”

“I think I have a very good reason to be dramatic!”

“I met your mother.”

“My mother is a fifty year old housewife named Naomi. Your father is the god of _death.”_

Nico makes an angry noise. “I told you that’s not his real name.”

“ _He owns funeral homes.”_

“A hilarious coincidence.”

“Yes, clearly I find this very funny.”

Nico rolls his eyes but grabs Will’s hand anyway. “Listen. It won’t be that bad. My father and I more or less get along now. Persephone is nice. And Hazel will be there. Everything will be fine. Stop stressing so much.”

Will makes a noise that says quite clearly that he doesn’t believe him, but he stay quiet.

The plane touches down in L.A. They get their luggage and are headed to where his father usually waits when Hazel comes running up to them. He thinks she’s just happy to see them, but she stops in front of him with a grimace on her face.

“Listen, we didn’t know. So don’t get angry at dad.”

“What are you talking about?”

 But as he rounds the corner, he quickly finds out.

There’s his father, looking quite murderous. Persephone next to him, looking almost like a petulant child. And next to her…

“Hello, Nico. Is this your friend?”

Demeter.

* * *

It’s a good thing, really, that Nico is so against public displays of affection, even so much as hand holding.

“We’re not dating,” he had told Will out of the corner of his mouth before they reached his family. He gives his father a meaningful look, but he just shakes his head.

They head outside and Nico’s awful day somehow gets even worse.

“I told you not to bring the limo,” he says quietly. His father sighs.

“I wasn’t going to, but it allows me to be as far as possible from Demeter, something I’m sure you can appreciate.”

“Why is she _here?”_

“Demeter has a built in radar that tells when she can make me the most miserable.”

Nico can’t help but smile.

“It’s rude to whisper,” Demeter says from behind them.

“We’re just talking about how happy we are that you’re here,” Nico says. His father snorts.

“You’re as bad as your father, Nico di Angelo.”

Nico takes a look at Will, who is staring at the limo in awe. Nico had told his father not to bring it exactly for this reason.

Nico had met Will’s mother a few months ago, and it had been so different from this that it might be comical if Nico weren’t so embarrassed. Will’s house was the very definition of small but cozy. His mother had been a kind woman who looked just like her son, quick to smile, but it was easier to see the spark that Will had hidden inside of him, and Nico had known immediately that this was a woman who would take no shit. His step-father was a quiet man who Will called ‘Dad.’ He didn’t talk much, but his cooking was very good. All in all, despite the fact that Nico was generally very anti-meet the parents, Nico had had a decently nice time.

Still, it was easy to see that Will’s family did not have a lot of money. Nico had always felt rather self-conscious about his situation compared to Will’s. It had gotten slightly better now that Nico had to have a job in order to pay his rent, but there was no way to hide him home life. He couldn’t downsize the house, but at the very least he wanted to avoid the goddamn limo.

He climbs in behind Hazel, with Will following behind him. Will leans in close.

“What is going on?”

“That’s Persephone’s mother, Demeter. She doesn’t really like my father. Or us. Or anything, really, except her daughter. And cereal, weirdly.”

Will leans back. “Hang on. Let me get this straight. Your father married a woman named Persephone. He earned the nickname Hades because of this. Also because he deals in death. And you’re going to sit there and tell me, with a totally straight face, that her mother is named Demeter. And she hates your father. Who is named Hades. Because he married her daughter. You’re going to sit there and tell me that your life literally directly parallels Greek friggin mythology as if that is a totally normal thing.”

Nico laughs, but before he can respond to this Demeter crawls into the car. Nico shifts slightly away from Will, shooting him an apologetic look.

“So,” she says, turning to Will. “Jason.”

“Um.”

“This is Will, Demeter.”

She surveys Will as if he’s hiding Jason under his jacket. “I thought your good friend was coming. And he’s blond. I distinctly recall that one of your good friends was blond, and his name was Jason.”

“Oddly enough, it is possible to have more than one blond friend.”

Demeter purses her lips, while Persephone giggles.

“Hazel,” Hades says, presumably before Demeter can say anything else. “How is your new roommate?”

Hazel’s last roommate, a girl named Gwen, had switched schools to be closer to home.

“She’s nice. Kind of scary. You would probably like her, Nico.”

“What does that mean?” Nico asks, while Will snorts beside him.

“Her name is Reyna. She’s a really good roommate. Nice and clean.”

This gets Hazel and Persephone on a steady conversation, and Persephone wisely avoids any lull where her mother could butt in. Nico always felt significantly closer to his step-mother on days when Demeter is here.

Nico barely waits for the car to stop moving before he drags Will out of it, grabbing their luggage.

“I’ll show Will the house,” he shouts over his shoulder, dragging him by his wrist up the stairs.

“Jesus Christ,” he hears him mutter.

Nico has never looked at his house from the perspective of an outsider. The only one he’s ever had over was Jason, whose father was nearly as well off as Nico’s. But as he leads Will through it, he – for what feels like the first time – really takes in the grandness of the place; the many rooms, the expensive looking décor (curtesy mostly of Persephone), the sheer size of it. He pulls Will into his room and sits down on his bed, putting his head in his hands. When he looks up, Will is flipping through the old CD case on his desk that’s been there since he was sixteen.

“You do listen to Bring Me the Horizon, you liar.”

Nico rubs at his eye tiredly. “Those are from almost ten years ago, Will.”

Will sits down next to him and wraps an arm around him. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Nico sighs. “I haven’t come out to Demeter yet, and I wasn’t really planning to.”

“Is she homophobic or something?”

Nico makes a face. “She’s… old. I mean I don’t think she’d come after me with a pitchfork, or anything, but it definitely wouldn’t be pleasant.”

Will starts absentmindedly playing with his hair. “So we're totally straight bros, is what you’re saying?”

Nico looks at him. Will is smiling, looking thoroughly amused.

“I’m sorry,” Nico mutters. Will shakes his head and kisses him.

“It’s fine. I’m adaptable.” They kiss again, but then there is a knock on his door and Will springs up again, feigning interest in Nico’s bookshelf.

It turns out just to be Nico’s father.

“Don’t look at me like, Nico. I’m not happy about this either.”

“Why is she here?”

“Because Persephone, in all her infinite wisdom, told her she couldn’t come, because you were bringing company. You know what happens when you tell Demeter no.”

Nico lets out an angry noise. Hades continues, looking rather awkward. “I think, for this weekend… it would be… easier… if you…”

“I will be straight for the weekend,” Nico mutters. Hades nods, looking relieved. Then he turns to Will.

“Will. It is nice to meet you.”

Will shakes Hades’ hand nervously. “You too, sir.”

Hades raises an eyebrow. “Sir,” he says, turning to Nico. “You could learn some manners, Nico.”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, Father.”

“Dinner is soon,” Hades says. Will excuses himself to wash his hands, leaving Nico and his father together. Hades glances around the room, then says, sounding as if he’s in pain, “He’s, uh. He’s –”

“Dad,” Nico interrupts. “I thought we made a rule not to discuss boys.”

Hades nods, looking much happier. “That’s probably for the best. Don’t be late for dinner. Ten minutes.”

Will comes back when his father leaves. He closes the door behind him and lies down next to him.

“This is the worst idea I’ve ever had.”

“‘No, it’ll be fine, Will, there’s nothing to worry about,’” Will says, in a poor imitation of Nico’s voice. Nico glares at him, but Will just laughs and leans over, kissing him deeply until they hear Hazel calling them for dinner.

She is waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, giving them a look that says quite clearly that she knew what they were doing. Nico doesn’t look her in the eye, and he blushes a violent shade of red when she smooths his hair down where Will had been running his hands through it.

“What were you two doing?” Demeter demands when they sit down. Nico’s father is very determinedly not looking at them. “You should have been here five minutes ago.”

“Um –”

“We were talking about sports,” Will supplies. This seems to satisfy Demeter, but Nico looks at him incredulously.

“Sports?” He mouths as they sit down. Will shrugs.

“I’m being straight,” he mouths back. Nico shakes his head.

They eat dinner mostly in silence. Will, ever the gentlemen, compliments the dinner, which makes Persephone quite happy. As they are finishing up, Demeter turns to Nico’s father.

“Where is Nico’s friend staying?”

Nico wonders why, exactly, this is relevant. Hades makes a face.

“Well, since you have imposed yourself upon us,” Persephone shoots him a look that says _do not provoke her,_ “and have taken the spare room, I suppose he will have to sleep on the couch.”

“That’s ridiculous, why doesn’t he just sleep in Nico’s room? Surely that would be better than any of those horrid couches, really you would think that someone with so much money would invest in some comfortable chairs, even sitting on them gives me back problems.”

“Yes well, unlike you, Will is not a hundred and –”

“Mother,” Persephone interrupts, before Hades can finish his sentence. “I’m sure he will be fine on the couch. There is no need to set him up on Nico’s floor.”

“It just seems rather ridiculous.” Her voice suddenly becomes uncharacteristically soft. “You know, you do have an empty room –”

“No,” both Nico and his father say at the same time. Demeter huffs, while Will moves his hand under the table to grip Nico’s tightly.

“Really, Haley, it has been almost fifteen years, this is not healthy.”

“No offence, Demeter, but I don’t really think you have a very good grasp on what is healthy or not,” his father says coldly.

“I just –”

“Mother,” Persephone says sharply. “Enough.”

Demeter huffs. “Fine. But I don’t see why the boy can’t just sleep in Nico’s room on a blow up mattress or what not. It would make more sense and it would be far more comfortable.”

“We can set up a mattress in the living room, then.”

“So he’ll be woken up at the crack of dawn when we all wake up!”

“I actually –” Nico kicks Will under the table. He’s pretty sure Will was about to say _I actually wake up early,_ but Nico cuts him off.

“I don’t have a problem with Will sleeping in my room,” he says. Both his father and Persephone give him very dirty looks, while Hazel just looks amused.

“See, there you go. Really, the way you treat your guests in this house is abhorrent. I don’t expect much out of your husband, Persephone, but I certainly raised you better than that.”

Nico is barely repressing a grin. His father does not look happy, but there is no logical reason to stop Will from sleeping in Nico’s room without outing the both of them.

Maybe Demeter being here wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

* * *

After dinner they locate outside, because it is a nice night and “the air in here is stifling,” Demeter had said. Nico’s father had firmly told her to “go outside then,” but Persephone, in an attempt to keep some kind of peace, had requested that they all sit outside for at least a little while.

“So," Demeter says.

“Here we go again,” Hades mutters.

“William.”

“Er, just Will, actually.”

“Sure. What do you do?”

“Well, I’m in med school.”

Demeter looks pleasantly surprised. “Now that is an admirable profession. Much better than, say –”

“Let me guess. My job?”

“Your words,” she says to Hades, “not mine. And your mother?”

“Well, she stayed home when I was young. Now that I’m older she’s started doing volunteer work, just to get out of the house.”

“And your father?”

“My, uh, my step-father is in real estate.”

“And your father?” She repeats. Nico is glaring daggers at her. Persephone tries to distract her, but she just plunders on. “What does he do?”

Will swallows. Nico wonders if his father’s connections would be enough to bail Nico out of jail if he hit Demeter over the head with one of Persephone’s garden gnomes until she died.

“I never knew my father,” Will says quietly. “He, uh. He left.”

To her credit, Demeter’s face softens. “Oh, well, there’s really nothing that can be done about that, dear, these things happen, Persephone’s father was a deadbeat, you know, but you seem like a very well-adjusted young man,” she says, in what she probably thinks is a calming voice. Completely oblivious to the four people glaring at her, she continues on. “I’ve always said any good mother should be able to raise a child without the help of a man. Persephone’s father was –”

Suddenly Hazel lets out a shriek that causes all of them to jump. She smiles.

“Sorry. There was a wasp.”

Nico smiles gratefully at her while Persephone quickly changes the subject. Nico nudges Will lightly with his foot, and Will flashes him a very thin smile.

Persephone keeps the conversation civil until a time when Nico can realistically excuse him and Will upstairs. Persephone grabs his arm as he passes and gives him an unapologetic look, but Nico just shakes his head. It would take a stronger woman than Persephone to handle Demeter.

“I’m sorry,” Nico mutters as they climb upstairs. Will shrugs.

“It’s all right. It’s not your fault. It’s my dad’s fault, really,” he says, sounding uncharacteristically bitter.

“If I had have known she would be here I would have postponed.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Nico sighs and gives one last glare in the direction of Demeter, just for good measure. When they get to his room Will collapses on his bed and throws an arm over his eyes. Nico looks at him, unsure of what he should say, and decides to get the blow up mattress from the hall closet.

“Am I really sleeping on that?” Will asks when he comes back.

“No. But I should at least set it up in case Demeter decides to poke her head in.” He starts pumping air into it, while Will keeps staring up at the ceiling.

When the bed is full of air Nico grabs a pillow and a blanket from the closet and throws them onto the bed for pretense. Will raises an eyebrow at him. “You look like you’ve done this before,” he remarks.

“Oh sure. I have brought many men back here to meet my parents.”

Will smiles slightly. Nico lies down next to him.

“Do you, uh. Want to talk about it?” Will must hear the hesitation in his voice because he laughs.

“You are still so bad at this.”

“Fuck off,” Nico mutters. Will turns into him.

“Not really,” he says, in answer to Nico’s question. Nico doesn’t push.

He doesn’t know much about Will’s father. He knows he never knew him, that he left before Will was born. There’s only one picture that his mother has, that Will keeps in one of his drawers at home. He has his father’s eyes. His mother married his step-father when Will was three, and he considers him to be his father. But there’s still something simmering beneath the surface that Nico can see, a bitterness and a little nagging voice that sometimes whispers _you weren’t worth it_ to him. Nico can’t really understand it – his mother had died rather than left. Nico has had his fair share of self-esteem issues and a multitude of problems with his father, but he had something very crucial that Will didn’t – an opportunity to fix them.

Nico doesn’t push, because Will hates talking about his father and tends to get snappish when Nico tries to probe him about it. He just gets up to turn off the lights and then gets back into bed. They lie in silence for such a long time that Nico thinks Will has fallen asleep until he rolls over and drapes an arm on Nico’s stomach.

“Everyone else seems nice,” he says, as if they had been in the middle of a conversation.

“That’s a word for it.”

“Your father didn’t look happy that I’m sleeping here.”

This makes Nico laugh. “When he invited us down here he said ‘you’re sleeping in different rooms.’ I told him I was 24 and an adult, and I shit you not, he said, ‘not in my house you’re not.’”

Will snorts. “That’s such a parent thing to say.”

“The first and only time he’s ever assumed that role.”

“He doesn’t seem that bad.”

Nico makes a disbelieving noise that makes Will laugh. His hand moves under Nico’s shirt and rests on the bare skin of his stomach.

“What are we doing tomorrow?”

“Sorry, I forgot to print out the itinerary.”

Will pinches him lightly. “Jackass. I just meant is there anything we have to wake up early for?”

“I don’t wake up early for anything. Wh – oh. You’re a fucking pervert, Solace,” he says, as Will climbs on top of him in one fluid motion.

“Are you saying you don’t want to have sex in your childhood bed?”

“I didn’t say that, I just said you’re a pervert.”

Will smiles as he kisses him, and despite everything Nico still sends a silent thank you to Demeter.

* * *

“Nico. Nico. Wake up.”

“Ungh.”

“What time is it?”

“Ten.”

Nico makes an incredulous sound. “Like hell, Will.”

“Please? I woke up two hours ago and now I’m getting hungry.”

“So then go eat.”

“Three hours after meeting her Demeter got me talking about my absent father. I don’t want to go downstairs alone.”

“Hazel will be up.”

“Please get up with me.”

“I hate every single thing about you.”

“I love you in the mornings. Don’t give me that look, I’m not afraid of you,” he says, in response to Nico’s glare.

“Have I mentioned that I hate you,” he mutters as he sits up.

“Once or twice,” Will replies, throwing Nico a new shirt from the drawer he indicates. He leans down to kiss him briefly before standing up and running a hand in front of his face, from forehead to chin, as if transforming himself.

“There. I have now resumed my disguise as a totally straight dude.” He puts out his fist, nodding at it seriously when Nico looks at him like he’s crazy. Sighing in resignation, Nico bumps their fists.

“No homo, bro,” Will says. Nico rolls his eyes.

“You are utterly ridiculous.”

Demeter and Persephone are in the living room when they get down. Nico nods to both of them and steers Will into the kitchen before Demeter has a chance to say anything.

“Where’s Hazel?”

“Downstairs, probably. Here, help yourself, but do it quickly before we’re forced into conversation.”

Will makes himself waffles and Nico grabs an apple. At Will’s angry glare he pours himself a bowl of cereal, too, carefully carrying it downstairs. Hazel is on the couch, reading a book. She smiles warmly at them as Nico sits down next to her, spilling milk all over himself. He glares at Will.

“Don’t look at me like that, I will not apologize for making you eat.”

They watch TV for a bit before Hazel suggests they go for a walk. It is then that Will pulls Nico aside and asks if they could go to the cemetery.

Hazel tells Persephone where they’re going and she suggest they take her car. Nico isn’t sure if she’s showing off for Will or trying to annoy her mother, because Persephone has never offered to lend them her car, but Nico isn’t about to complain – it was a long walk.

Hazel drives, and the car ride is silent. The walk through the cemetery is, too. When they reach Bianca’s grave they stop in front of it and stand in silence until Nico says, “I forgot flowers again.”

“I didn’t,” Hazel says, pulling a few flowers out of her purse.

“Where did you get those?”

“Persephone’s garden,” he says, handing a flower each to Will and Nico. She places hers on the grave, and Nico and Will follow suit. Then they stand in silence again. Will slips his hand through Nico’s and squeezes gently, and he doesn’t even flinch when Nico’s nails bite into his skin.

Will had taken him to Michael’s grave, and he had talked to it, the way Nico usually spoke to Bianca’s. But now that he’s in the same position he finds that his throat seems to have closed.

He remembers being here and telling her about Will – “I think I fucked it up.” It is hard to believe he is here, now.

“Do you think she’d like me?” Will asks quietly, so only Nico can hear him.

“Yeah,” Nico tells him. “She would.”

* * *

Will insists on seeing the sights, which utterly disgusts Nico.

“I’ve never been out of New York,” he says defensively. “Let me live.”

“You’re hoping to see Taylor Swift, aren’t you?”

“Give me some credit, Nico. Taylor Swift lives in New York.”

Hazel, bless her soul, more than makes up for his lack of enthusiasm. They spend most of the afternoon out, until they decide it’s probably time go back home.

“Your father will be home late –”

“No way,” Nico replies sarcastically. Persephone ignores him.

“We’re ordering pizza when he gets home, so don’t eat too much.

“I’m having a hard time aligning this house with pizza,” Will says as they head upstairs so Nico can take a shower.

“We’re not the royal family,” Nico says. Will slaps his ass as he heads to the bathroom.

“No homo,” he says again with a wink. Nico tries to look annoyed.

He takes a shower and Will takes one after. When Will is done they kiss against Nico’s bedroom wall before Persephone calls for them, staring Nico down.

“Don’t look at me like that, I am 24 years old,” he says in annoyance, but Persephone doesn’t seem to care much.

“You make it seem like it’s totally unreasonable for your father and I to act like this.”

“Again, I am _24 years old.”_

“Take it up with your father, Nico, it wasn’t my decision.”

“What exactly does he think is going to happen? It’s not like I’m going to get knocked up.”

Persephone rolls her eyes, while Will looks unsure whether he should be amused or embarrassed.

Nico’s father arrives home with pizza, and Nico thinks Will has a point. His father does look very out of place, in his expensive suit, holding pizza boxes.

“We’re eating gourmet tonight, I see,” Demeter remarks as she enters the dining room. Hades’ nostrils flare.

“You are more than welcome to cook if you are unhappy, Demeter. Or better yet, you are free to leave.”

Demeter looks slightly murderous, but she stays silent.

Once they are all settled in Demeter gets started again.

“William –”

“Will.”

“Yes of course. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Um. I actually broke up with my girlfriend… recently.” Which, Nico reflects, is not exactly a lie, if you stretch out the definition of recently to include more than two years ago.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“That’s okay. It feels like it happened years ago, really.” Nico kicks him under the table. Demeter turns her attention to him.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you have a girlfriend yet?”

“See, the problem is that there are so many girls interested in me that I just can’t seem to choose.”

Will lets out a laugh that he quickly covers with a cough; even his father looks amused. Demeter gives him a dirty look before turning to Hazel.

“And you?”

“Oh, I’m still with Frank.”

“Ah, right. The Asian one.”

Persephone lets out a very undignified noise. “Mother!”

“What?” She asks, sounding genuinely confused. “I didn’t say I minded, I was just saying. I don’t have a problem or anything! I think I’ve been quite accepting of Hazel here –”

Persephone starts choking rather violently on her food, while Nico’s father is staring at Demeter like he can’t quite believe that just happened. Hazel makes a funny little snorting sound that might either be anger or amusement. Nico opens his mouth to cuss out Demeter, who has resumed eating without a care in the world, but it is Persephone (after she had stopped choking) who speaks first.

“Mother,” she says. “I think it’s probably time for you to go back home, now.”

Just as Demeter opens her mouth to respond, the lights suddenly flicker, before shutting off completely.

“What the hell,” his father mutters, getting up. Nico can hear the front door open, while Persephone grabs a flashlight from the cupboard above the fridge and Hazel gets up to grab some candles. His father comes back into the house as Hazel has begun lighting them.

“The whole street is out,” he says. “Who knows when it will be back on. On the bright side, I can’t see Demeter anymore.”

Nico laughs.

“We’ll just have to wait it out,” Persephone says. The candles cast an eerie glow on all their faces; on the other hand, it is much easier to touch Will now.

Hazel, Persephone and Nico move all the candles to the sitting room, where they can sit on the more comfortable couches. Nico sits with Will as far from Demeter as possible.

He can tell it’s going to be a long night.

* * *

**From: Jason**

**(9:33)** Haven’t heard from you in a while. Is everything ok?

**To: Jason**

**(9:36)** Demeter is here and I have to pretend to be straight, the power has gone out, and Hazel has just suggested we play Disney Monopoly, which we have for some reason. So what do you think?

**From: Jason**

**(9:40)** Play as Snow White

**To: Jason**

**(9:42)** I am ending our friendship and returning your wedding gift

**From: Jason**

**(9:43)** xo

 **(9:44)** What did you get me?

**To: Jason**

**(9:45)** Nothing now!

 **(9:46)** Demeter keeps looking at me. “Are you texting a girl?” Being straight is exhausting how do you do it

 **(9:47)** Gotta go. I’ll text you later. Will’s already landed on free parking. I hate this game

**From: Jason**

**(9:48)** Hang on Percy wants to know what you’re playing as

**To: Jason**

**(9:49)** Pinocchio

**From: Jason**

**(9:50)** Lame

Monopoly, Nico reflects, took way too long. It took even longer when you had to read everything by flashlight.

They very quickly find another problem: it is an uncommonly hot night, and the A/C is no longer working. Nico excuses himself upstairs to change into a pair of shorts; the only problem is the last pair of shorts Nico had bought had been two growth spurts ago. Judging from the frantic way Will’s hand gropes the inside of his thigh, he notices too.

“Are you trying to kill me?” He mutters as he reaches across him to get a card.

“It’s not my fault it’s a hundred degrees,” he says, but he smirks as Will’s fingernails dig into his leg.

“Dad, you can’t keep pretending Hazel doesn’t land on your property.”

“She’s in last place.”

“Welcome to the real world!”

“This isn’t the real world, Nico, this is Disney Monopoly.”

Hazel waits until Hades isn’t looking and then sticks her tongue out. Nico glares at her.

“Here,” Persephone says, coming back with dish towels she had run under cold water. “Put these on your foreheads, you’ll cool down.”

“Careful, dear, you know water will cause your mother to melt.”

Nico and Hazel laugh while Persephone pretends that she isn’t.

“I am not having fun,” Demeter – who is back in jail – says.

“Now you know how everyone else feels when you’re around.”

Once the dish towels dry out Nico takes them to the kitchen to run them under cold water again. Will comes to ‘help.’

“Calm down,” Nico whispers in amusement as Will turns the tap on, pushing Nico up against the counter.

“Can you please bring these shorts back to New York,” he whispers. Nico grins.

“If you’d like,” he says. Will lets out a moan that reverberates through him, and Nico pulls him closer, slipping his fingers beneath his shirt. The water is still running, but Nico has stopped noticing.

Two things happen almost simultaneously – the lights flicker back on, and someone behind them lets out a strangled noise, as if they’d been punched.

“What was that?” But as soon as his father enters the room he immediately understands. He glares so fiercely at Nico that he finally understands where his own ability to glare came from.

“Will was choking. I was giving him CPR. I’m a hero, really.”

Hazel is giggling, and Persephone also looks quite amused. Demeter’s eyes are almost bulging out of her head. Hades doesn’t seem to know whether he should be angry or happy at how utterly mortified Demeter is.

Nico casually extricates his hands from Will’s shirt and smiles at the room.

“Shall we go back to Monopoly?”


End file.
